Of all the cities that I visited in the US last month, Houston proved to be the odd man out.
Not only the airport is located too far away to the north, the NASA Space Center that I visited is also a long distance from the city center and in the opposite direction, to the south. So, staying at a place in downtown was not an option.
My first preference is for hostels followed by cheaper motels. Houston had none that was close enough to the Space Center or at least accessible via the public transport. Good public transportation sadly is nonexistent in Houston, especially between airport and the downtown.
Reluctantly I chose Microtel Inn and Suites that was only a bit economical but most importantly situated across the street opposite the NASA Space Center.
This proved to be both time-saver and money-saver for me since I simply walked across the street to reach the NASA Space Center, my only tourist spot during the 2-day Houston trip.
Below is the sunshine view of the Inn that shows plenty of parking.
The sunny view of the inn is deceiving since it can get very warm in Houston in June when I visited, a great climatic shock for a person traveling from cool cool Seattle where the weather was super-perfect at that time of the year.
I noticed that there were reserved parking slots not only for the differently abled but also a few with charging stations for EVs.
This is the main entrance of the Inn that has a nice carpet leading to a two-step entrance with a buffer zone in between.
This is the lavish front desk though the service staff would normally stay behind the blue facade and show up only upon request.
Although I did not see any service bells, they would automagically come outside leading me to believe that they had CCTV system inside.
The large screen display on the extreme right did not miss my attention.
The main lobby had plenty of soft cushioned sofa, chairs and tables to sit and relax along with utilities like an ATM.
I saw there were also a couple of vending machines for coke, water and snacks that accepted cash and card, but no UPI payment.
The US is still catching up with India in terms of the convenience of paying through the phone.
Out here in India one can survive without cash or card for weeks at a stretch making payments using the phone alone for everything from a saloon to supermarket.
There was also a free ice-cube dispenser that I liked the most.
Hip Tip: I always carried a large cap water bottle filled with ice when going out in the sunny and warm weather of Houston and enjoyed a cold sip of water when required. This is so convenient compared to carrying cold water that got warm after some time especially when needed.
The top attraction of the Microtel Inn was the complimentary breakfast every morning from 6 am to 9 am besides the free Wi-Fi.
The breakfast items included a range of breads, cheese, bagel, cornflakes, fruit loops, waffles, milk, tea and coffee.
The breakfast table was spacious, and I enjoyed it with local news and weather updates on a large LED TV.
Alert - The Microtel Inn is located in a remote suburb of Houston on the NASA Parkway with virtually few or no utility shops except a CVS Pharmacy next door.
Pharmacy in the US could be misleading if you are new. A Pharmacy is typically a Big Bazar or D-Mart in India.
They sell everything from daily needs to utility items and the medicine section forms only a small part, located typically in the farthest corner.
The pharmacy has its own parking lot under shady trees.
The shady trees also cover the wonderful sidewalks on the streets of Houston providing an enjoyable walk for miles.
This is a classic American Stroad and although many do not talk good about it, Stroads are heaven for people like me who love walking over long distances and change the side only at designated places.
Here’s the simply amazing view of the sidewalk in the late evening when I returned from a long-distance walk, showing the Microtel Inn on the right and indicating the NASA Space Center on the left.
If you walk a bit farther, there is also a small shopping plaza hosting Starbucks, Dominos, a Marketplace and Burger Nation.
Here is the backside entrance of the Inn.
Alert - The handle of the back side entrance is broken, and one could easily get locked out like I did.
And may have to walk around to get inside the property again from the main entrance at the front.
Alert 2 - do not bring this to the notice of the housekeeping who will waste your time demonstrating how the handle is actually working and at the same time convincing that you are the one not using it properly.
Instead, simply move on and enjoy a walk on the shady sidewalk along the stroad.
and the same place at night looks beautiful too.
The backside entrance of the Inn is accessible for a wheelchair bound person.
Another top attraction of the Inn is a cool and attractive pool that I did not get a chance to enjoy due to the tight time schedule.
So, I will save it for the next trip to this part of sunny Texas.
The rooms are clearly marked as accessible from the outside and on the inside, they are studded with utilities like a coffee machine with complimentary coffee, sugar and whitener, a mini-fridge, desk, and chair.
The other utilities are a TV, alarm clock, cloth area with hangers while the beds were super-comfy.
The bathrooms had a royal touch with loads of towels in various sizes, a liberal supply of soaps and shampoos along with a hair dryer.
Note: If you are traveling from India or Europe, please carry an India-US electrical adapter. It is very cheap to buy a good quality in India compared to the US where you will also end up paying for a taxi just to locate an electrical shop like RadioShack.
The best part of the Microtel Inns and suites was its location, right across the street from the NASA Space Center.
So, it saved both me time and money reaching this top tourist spot in Houston about which I will write in detail in the next post.
